NBC News Is Discussing A Potential Keith Olbermann Return To MSNBC

MSNBC needs a boost in primetime. Keith Olbermann is out of a job after his contract expired at ESPN. It is being reported that NBC News President Andrew Lack might be interested in bringing Olbermann back to MSNBC.

An article in The Wrap on the changes that NBC News President Andrew Lack is making contained an interesting nugget:

Aside from Turness, Lack might be indirectly trying to resurrect another career-in MSNBC primetime. Although there has been no confirmation of direct talks between Keith Olbermann and Lack about a possible return, it’s not out of the question.

“Phil isn’t talking to him, but someone else might be,” the insider told TheWrap, pointing out that like in many tense negotiations, a middleman not directly part of NBC News-MSNBC’s chain of command could be putting out feelers to Olbermann.

The bad blood between Griffin and Olbermann, which dates back to his messy exit in 2011, might still cast clouds over a possible return. But it’s certainly not be a deal breaker.
“Phil might say over my dead body, but Andy doesn’t have those issues,” the insider said.

An Olbermann return would require that MSNBC boss Phil Griffin be shown the door. Frankly, it is impossible to see Olbermann ever returning to the network if Griffin is still around, but there are roughly a thousand reasons for Griffin to be fired. The chief among them being the fact that he has managed to take a profitable and growing cable network and turn it into a raging tire fire.

MSNBC is a mess, and Phil Griffin is the reason the network is in such bad shape. Griffin and his team have made a series of horrible decisions that have pushed MSNBC’s audience away. A reunion of the Olbermann/Maddow block would push MSNBC ahead of CNN in the ratings. MSNBC viewers would quickly forgive the network for replacing Ed Schultz with Chuck Todd at 5 PM if the network brought back Keith Olbermann at 8 PM.

There are not many top notch broadcasters who could come in and fix MSNBC primetime. Olbermann would be a quick fix for two of the biggest problems at the network. MSNBC needs to undo the Chris Hayes disaster and find another star to pair with Maddow. Olbermann would solve both of these problems.

The odds that Olbermann returns as long as the current leadership regime is in place at MSNBC are long, but the fact that NBC News would consider it suggests that the door is open for the return of the biggest star in MSNBC history.

Follow Me
Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements. Awards and  Professional Memberships Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Recent Posts

Trump And House GOP’s Promise To Not Cut Social Security Is Total Nonsense

Trump got House Republicans to not use reconciliation to cut Social Security. The problem is…

1 day ago

Trump And Mike Johnson Agree To Apparently Cut Americans’ Healthcare To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich

President-elect Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson have agreed to a deal that would fund the…

1 day ago

Dozens Of Republicans Humiliate Trump/Musk By Voting Down CR

Donald Trump demanded that the debt limit be raised as part of the government funding…

2 days ago

Trump And Vance Blame Biden For Elon Musk Caused Chaos

Donald Trump and JD Vance are blaming President Biden for the havoc caused by Elon…

3 days ago

House Republicans Are Falling Apart And Now Mike Johnson Could Be Toast

The first little bit of pressure involving passing a bill to keep the government open…

3 days ago

Elon Musk Melts Down As House Republicans Show Him That He Has No Power

X boss Elon Musk is throwing a tantrum on his social media platform as House…

3 days ago